Covenant Church
an ecumenical liberal baptist congregation
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A Service of Worship for
July 26, 2020


Bakerwoman God, 
I am your living bread.
Strong, brown Bakerwoman God, 
I am your low, soft, and being-shaped loaf.
 
I am your rising bread, 
well-kneaded by some divine 
and knotty pair of knuckles, 
by your warm earth hands. 
I am bread well-kneaded.

Alla Renee Bozarth

Worship Order
Worship notes are included at the bottom of this page.
With this link you can make a donation to Covenant through PayPal or a credit card. 
Full Worship Service video for July 26. 

Adult Education - TODAY,  10AM
Adult Education will member David Ramsey, who will present his spiritual journey at 10am via Zoom. ​Zoom links are available on the Online Gatherings page on our website: https://www.covenanthouston.org/covenant-gatherings.html

Prelude
“Londonderry Gardens” Charles Peery, The Bayou City Bells, David Lee, director.

​Call to Worship

Opening Sentences
Though the parables and sayings of Jesus 
are in continuity with the Hebrew Scriptures and, 
specifically, with the promise of
​a coming Kingdom of God, 
there is something about them 
that can only be described as radical.  
They call our world, the here-and-now world 
in which we live, into question.  
They stand us before the coming of an 
inexplicably different social order.  
As such, they are full of hope and, 
at the same time, 
the unnerving threat of change.


​Scripture Lesson: Matthew 13:31-35; 44-50

​Time for Children

​Call to Confession
Unison Confession
The truth is not a matter
            of elaborating the details of a parable
   but of making God’s nearness visible;
 
God can be seen in everyday life,
            beside the bread trough.
   Jesus wants to open people’s eyes to this.
 
The work of women and men,
            work for life,
   is transparent to God’s work.
 
Such an image may sharpen our gaze
            to what is work for human life
   and what is not--
            and what that has to do with God


​Music
“Show Me Thy Ways” by Walter Pelz, The Covenant Singers, Heather Laureles, clarinet.
​​Proclamation
​
​Prayer

Gentle and Welcoming One, Loving and Joyful Spirit,

Your warm, wide arms are always open, drawing us into your heart full of love.
Make our arms your own, helping us see and welcome with compassion all those we meet.

Your compassion always looked like courage. 
Strengthen our hearts with your bravery as we risk, reach out, and lift up our siblings near and far.

Help us keep our eyes on you.

Thank you for your Spirit within us
who guides, encourages, and strengthens us. 

Help us see ourselves through your eyes - with love, kindness, and deep joy.
May we love our bodies, treasure our hearts, and celebrate our spirits.

You are active and alive, always moving and stirring within and around us! 
Please be an encouraging wind at our backs, giving us open minds and soft hearts to follow where you lead.

Make us flexible and present in each moment that we might embrace compassion by letting go of what we expected.

Your loving hands are always creating freedom, release, and fresh starts! Help us do the same today by caring for all living things with gentleness and care.

Open us to humbly receive that same care ourselves.

Make our hearts smile and our actions sing with your promise of abundance toward the whole world.
Amen.
-Illustrated Ministry Curriculum Team
​
​Invitation

​Prayer of Dedication
We recognize that the Kingdom of God
is somehow accessible within each of us.
We encourage each other
to take care of our own spiritual lives
as well as to reach out to others. 
We accept the strong ethical requirements
of the inward kingdom
seeking outward incarnation.

​Affirmation of Faith
If the Kingdom of God is within you,
   then everywhere you go 
            you should leave a little heaven behind.
People will know you to be a heaven leaver.
You can learn to love your crooked neighbor
   with your crooked heart
            because you’re connected to a power and grace
            greater than your ego.

​Benediction
And so be at peace knowing that you 
are part of a realm of justice and love, 
a realm that like a weed cannot be stopped.
Amen

Postlude
“Carillon” Dean Wagner, The Bayou City Bells, David Lee, director.

Worship Notes

The worship leader is Moses Mason.

The prelude is played by The Bayou City Bells, David Lee, director. 

The Call to Worship is from Ode to Bread by Pablo Neruda.

The Opening Sentences are by David Buttrick (adapted).

The Unison Confession is adapted from “God in Everyday Life: The Parables” in Jesus of Nazareth by Dorothee Soelle and Louise Schottroff.

“Show Me Thy Ways” is sung by The Covenant Singers, Heather Laureles, clarinet.

The Prayer of Dedication is adapted from and inspired by Jesus Was a Liberal: Reclaiming Christianity for All by Scott McClennan.

The Affirmation of Faith is adapted from Hope on a Tightrope: Words and Wisdom by Cornel West.

​The postlude is played by The Bayou City Bells, David Lee, director.
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Covenant Church
4949 Caroline St., Houston, TX 77004
office@covenanthouston.org
713-668-8830
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